Do you need a service animal?
At ASIST/ASSISTER we would love to help everyone who needs a service animal. In reality, available funds govern what and how fast we can fulfill this wish. Currently, the focus of ASIST/ASSISTER is on Courageous Companions, a program for ill and injured soldiers who are still members of the Canadian Forces.
ASIST/ASSISTER is a not-for-profit organization that must have its costs covered to train service animals. The average cost for training a service animal is estimated at $25,000 to $40,000 (self trained animals are less costly, but still range between $5,000 to $10,000) depending on the animal and the functional limitations it will be trained to help the person with a disability overcome.
ASIST/ASSISTER needs financial assistance to provide service animals to persons who are defined as a person with a disability, and non-military persons with disabilities such as veterans (soldiers who are no longer active Canadian Forces members), police officers and other emergency response personnel who suffer from PTSD.
ASIST/ASSISTER wants to work with you if you are a person with a disability and if you have, or can raise, or help to raise the requisite financial backing to train a service animal for your specific needs. ($25,000 – $40,000 per dog noted above, but this does not include 24/7 monitoring for persons with sleep disorders.) Please note that these estimates do not cover the cost of travel to and from your home if you live at a distance from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada where our training facility is located.
If you can fulfill these requirements, please download the application. Please return your completed application to us, either by:
- scanning it and emailing it to us at: application@asist.ca OR
- printing it and faxing it to “ASIST/Assister” at 613-560-0545.
If you are unable to fund your participation right now, please check this page again in 6 months to see if we have secured funding for non-military persons with disabilities, as we are always looking for funding sources.
